


The Ghost King's Many Loves

by upsidedowngirl



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, multishipping through the multiverse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 05:44:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2840150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/upsidedowngirl/pseuds/upsidedowngirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four unrelated one-shots of different Nico ships, featuring campfires, boys and high-pressure hoses.  Chapter 1: Nico, Will, and Lou Ellen are on a quest to track a group of empousai, but what happens when they have to sleep in the same tent 'for safety'? Is Nico ever going to act on his feelings for a certain son of Apollo, or will arguments ruin their relationship? For a gift exchange.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ghost King's Many Loves

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as a Christmas gift exchange present for 50-shades-of-nico on tumblr. Each chapter will be a one-shot of Nico and another character, and there will be four chapters in total. Merry Christmas!!  
> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to the amazing Rick Riordan.
> 
> edit 09/2015: oh god i just reread this and i can't believe how shit it is sorry if the start makes no sense

WILL/NICO ON A QUEST

 

“ _Follow the empousai to see what they’re doing and be back in a couple of weeks.”_

It wasn’t much of a prophecy, with the Oracle gone, but Nico di Angelo thought he preferred it to the mysterious rhyming crap that most questers were faced with.  At least this way he wouldn’t have to worry about any foreshadowed deaths - he hadn’t forgotten the way he’d felt when Bianca hadn’t returned from a quest.

 

It was dusk, Nico’s favourite time of the day.  His campfire cast flickering shadows onto the trees around him, creating a slightly creepy light show.  There was just enough light for him to see the food he was preparing (and probably burning), but any normal person, unaccustomed to living in the shadows, would have found it difficult to see.  Will from the Apollo cabin and Lou Ellen from the Hecate cabin were nearby, having joined him on this quest.

They’d just received an Iris Message from camp.  Lou Ellen had offered to take it, and had talked monsters and specifics for about five minutes before saying goodbye and making a beeline for Nico - as he was the leader of their team - to explain the message.

“That was Chiron,” she announced.  “They’ve found out that there are three more empousai than we thought there were - apparently the group we’re following met up with some friends.”

“Well that’s _just what we fucking need_ , isn’t it,” said Nico savagely.

“Nico, chill!  We can’t have you fading again.” Will Solace appeared from where he’d been sorting through their packs on the other side of the campfire.

“It’s alright,” said Lou Ellen, being the peacemaker. “I’m pretty angry too.”  Mainly at Will and Nico, although she didn’t say that.  The two of them had been arguing constantly since the start of their quest, and she was worried it was creating a rift between them.

“No, you don’t get it,” continued Will. “Nico isn’t only worried about the extra monsters.  He’s worried about us, too, because his sister died on a quest and he's scared we will as well. Her name was Bianca - you met her that time Lou, remember.  Especially since it’s the first time he’s been a leader, and he doesn’t want to fade again like he did returning the Athena Parthenos.”

Although he tried to hide it, Nico couldn’t stop his surprise showing.  Will had understood him _perfectly_.

 

The quest dragged on, each day a repetition of the last.  The three demigods discovered that the monsters they were tracking were part of a gang. Their aim was to destroy Camp Half-Blood, with the help of a magical golden sword which had the power to cut through the camp’s boundaries.  Despite this problem, Nico couldn’t stop thinking about Will.  His hair, his laugh, the way he wouldn’t take no for an answer…  Even when faced with the potential destruction of the place he now thought of as home, the main thing on his mind was Will Solace.

So when they were attacked by the donkey-and-celestial-bronze-legged creatures, he actually felt relieved.

 

The group was heading back to their current campsite after buying lunch at a nearby cafe when they were ambushed by three empousai.  Luckily all of them were carrying weapons, but they were taken by surprise and so had the tactical disadvantage.  The empousai didn’t hesitate to engage them in battle.

Nico panicked for a second.  He had an idea of what they should do, but all too often his ideas went wrong.  _Oh well, what happens, happens.  Better to make a slightly wrong decision than no decision at all._  

“ATTACK PLAN MACEDONIA!” he yelled.  There was no time for arguing.  They formed a line and faced the monsters head-on, with Nico in the middle, Will to his right and Lou Ellen to his left.  Nico was the best fighter in the group, so he made the main charge.  The other two, along with some hastily summoned skeleton warriors, attacked from the sides.  Before too long it was over - all three empousai had been killed and turned to dust, and Lou Ellen was curled up beside them, clutching her leg.  There was a rapid stream of blood flowing from a gash right above her knee.  She gasped, trying to speak through the pain.

“Are you alright?” Will asked her.  “Wait, no, don’t answer that.  Just stay still while I heal your cut.  Nico, can you pass me my medicine pouch?”  He’d gone into doctor mode, efficiently dealing with any problem he was faced with, be it a splinter or surgery.  It was one of Nico’s favourite things about him - that he could focus so totally on the task at hand, often blocking out the world entirely.  After the Giant War, he’d been so busy dealing with injured demigods that he hadn’t eaten for days.  Nico, in desperation, had eventually got Clarisse to force him to eat a bowl of soup.

Not for the first time, Nico was struck by the fact that the outcome of a battle often came down to pure luck.  Technically, Lou Ellen was a much better fighter than Will, yet she was the one lying on the ground while he bandaged her leg.

 

Later, back at the campsite, Will turned to Nico.

“Nico, you need to get your head out of the clouds.  It was your indecision that got Lou Ellen injured - if you’d decided on our attack plan when we first saw the empousai, maybe she wouldn’t have been.”

“Huh?” said Nico.  He’d stopped concentrating after Will said his name.  The way he said it… Nico pictured the two of them holding hands, walking down a sunlit lane.  He saw himself turn to Will, run his fingers through Will’s hair.  He leant closer and…

“That’s just what I’m talking about!  You never listen, you can’t accept that maybe other people know more about what’s right for you than you do!”  Will’s voice was increasing in volume, and Nico got the feeling that he wasn’t really talking about Lou Ellen any more.

“I’m the leader, Solace!  That’s what leaders do.  They make decisions for the good of the team, and if you don’t like that, well, you can go fuck off!” yelled Nico.  He could feel his face reddening with anger.

“Huh?” said Will.  He’d stopped concentrating after Nico said his surname. The way he said it… Will pictured the two of them by the archery range back at camp.  It was out of the way so nobody would see them when they… wait what?  Where was that thought going?

“You’re such a bloody hypocrite,” said Nico, but his heart wasn’t in the argument anymore.  He just wanted to make up so they could be friends.  (Or make out so they could be more than friends.  Actually yeah, that was a better idea.  He just didn’t know if Will felt the same way.)

 

That night, Will suggested the three of them sleep in the same tent.  Until then, they’d each carried their own tent fly, and set them up on different sides of a campfire so they could see the greatest possible portion of the surrounding countryside.  But according to Will, that wasn’t going to work anymore.

“Now the empousai know we’re here, they’ll be looking out for our campsite.  If they get to one of us, the others’ll be too far away to help, and it’ll be easier to protect Lou with her injured leg.  So we need to stick together at all times.”

Nico wasn’t keen on the idea at first, since it meant giving up the advantage of being able to see in all directions around them.  But it did have its merits - namely, he’d be closer to Will.  He almost didn’t want to admit it to himself, but despite their arguments (maybe even _because_ of them), Nico liked Will.  More than liked - he felt as if Will was one of the only people who could understand him.  Until Will had healed him after the Giant War, Nico hadn’t realised it was possible for a person to be made of sunshine. Darkness and shadows, sure, but there was something special about Will Solace.  Something that made Nico feel lighter instantly, whenever he saw him.

 

So he went along with Will’s suggestion.  Lou Ellen set up her tent fly beside the campfire, then Will connected his to hers, and Nico connected his to the other side of Will’s.  The result was a single long tent in a triangular prism shape, striped in three different colours with not a lot of room inside.  Despite the cramped interior, Nico felt more secure that night than he had for months.  Maybe even years.

At what felt like midnight, he still hadn’t fallen asleep.  He inhaled the cold night air deeply and rolled onto his side, feeling calm.  His eyes widened when he saw Will, clearly awake, looking at him.

“I thought you were asleep,” Nico whispered.

“I couldn’t get to sleep without apologising for shouting at you earlier.  I didn’t mean it and I don’t want you to think I did, I’m really sorry.”

“I know you didn’t.” Nico shifted in his sleeping bag slightly so he could properly face Will. “I understand.  It’s hard, sometimes, to work as part of a team when you’ve been alone for so long.”

“Yeah… you always seem so in control, though.  You’re such an easy person to be around, and I don’t think you realise that.  And apart from this afternoon, you’ve had a plan for every situation we’ve been in.  I feel like I’m safe when you’re around, you know?”

Nico’s breath caught in his throat.  What was Will trying to say?  Slightly nervously, he stretched out his hand, not quite sure what he was doing but knowing he had to reach out before it was too late.  Will caught it.

If Nico thought his heart had been beating fast before, that was nothing compared to its speed now.  “Somehow I thought your hand would be warmer,” he managed to say. _Dumbass, what a comment. You totally ruined your chances there._

Will laughed.  “It’s the middle of the night in winter, silly.”  But he didn’t release Nico’s hand.

 

And if Lou Ellen thought there was anything unusual about waking up to find the two boys fast asleep and still holding hands, she never mentioned it.


End file.
